Nothing in Common
by elbcw
Summary: A series of attacks on seemingly unrelated victims, including one of their own, leaves the Musketeers puzzled.
1. Chapter 1

Authors note: This chapter is quite long, but I could not sensibly split the narrative anywhere else. The next chapter is shorter.

Nothing in Common

Chapter One

'What 'appened to you?'

'I've been robbed,' said Aramis as he sat down heavily beside Porthos who was eyeing his friend with concern.

They had watched as the dishevelled marksman had crossed the garrison yard to sit at the table with them. He had a black eye and bruising across his cheek, his doublet was muddy.

'Are you hurt?' asked Athos looking Aramis up and down.

'Other than my pride, no I don't think so. He was very good, grabbed me from behind and I barely had a chance to react before he hit me. When I woke up they were gone, as were my gun and sword.'

'They knocked you out?'

'I'm not concussed.'

Porthos was not so sure. Aramis looked a bit unfocused and was clearly making light of a serious incident. He watched as Aramis reached out to pick up the cup of water that d'Artagnan had poured for him, when he winced at the action Porthos knew the marksman was hiding another injury. Knowing his friend would probably not admit to it he simply reached up and grabbed his shoulder.

Aramis dropped the cup and cried out in pain. He looked at Porthos in shock.

'What did you do that for?'

'You're hurt…and you don't want to bother us with it.'

D'Artagnan could not suppress a chuckle, 'he's got you there,' he said.

Aramis sighed, 'I might have bruised my back.'

'Come on,' said Porthos rising, 'I want a look.'

Aramis glanced at Athos who nodded his agreement that the marksman should do as he was told.

'Do all your conquests give in this easily?' asked Aramis as he allowed Porthos to pull him up to stand.

'N'ah, only you.'

'This is ridiculous…'

Athos looked at Aramis sternly, 'do you want me to tell Treville you are unfit for duty? Because I will.'

Aramis glared at them all, Porthos knew he was not really angry, he was probably just embarrassed at the situation. Soldiers should not get attacked, but they were all human and occasionally people took them by surprise. He knew that the week before one of the Red Guard had been attacked and left unconscious, unceremoniously dumped in a puddle. That had caused them all a chuckle, but it was different when it was one of their own.

Once in the privacy of the infirmary Porthos had to help Aramis take off his doublet, he was struggling to shrug out of the garment, without wincing.

'It must be some impressive bruising…' said Porthos as he pulled the doublet off Aramis' arms, 'except it ain't bruising…your back is bleeding.'

'What?'

'Take your shirt off, your back's covered in blood.'

'How…?'

As Aramis struggled out of his shirt Porthos held up the marksman's doublet, there were no marks on the leather to correspond with the bloody wounds on his friends back. He looked across at Aramis who had paled a little as he tried to work out what had happened to himself.

'Aramis, how long were you unconscious for?'

'I didn't think it was very long…but it must have been long enough for them to take my jacket and shirt off, do whatever they did to me and put my clothes back on me before I woke up.'

Porthos cleaned the blood from his friends back, there were several slices across the flesh, each deep enough to bleed but none so serious they would need stitching.

'It's weird,' he said as he dressed the wounds, 'why would they go to that much trouble?'

Aramis did not respond, Porthos looked at him.

'You OK?'

'Yes,' replied Aramis eventually, 'I just can't work out why someone would do that.'

MMMM

'Is he OK?' asked Treville once Athos had finished telling him about the attack on Aramis.

'Yes, he's sore from the wounds on his back and will no doubt be feeling the effects of the attack for a few days, but otherwise he is more embarrassed and a bit confused as to why he was treated as he was.'

'It is very odd. A lot of trouble to go to, just to injure someone,' said Treville. He thought for a few moments, Athos could tell something had occurred to him, 'I wonder if it's the same person that attack the Red Guardsman?'

'If there are similar injuries I would say it is a fair assumption,' replied Athos. The attacks could be linked, but it was not unusual for soldiers to be attacked by disenchanted locals.

'I have a meeting at the Palace later today, I'll see if I can corner the Captain of the Red Guard or the Cardinal and try and find out what happened to their soldier…I imagine Aramis is keen to find out who stole his gun?'

Athos nodded with a slight smile.

'None of you have duties tomorrow so feel free to help him,' Treville continued, 'perhaps stop him getting in any more trouble?'

MMMM

It was the Cardinal who found Treville, sweeping up to him along one of the ornate Palace corridors. His approach silent as always.

'I hear one of your men was attacked this morning?'

Treville, as always, marvelled at the Cardinals intelligence gathering skills. The man knew everything that went on. A servant could sneeze at the other end of the Palace and the Cardinal would know before they had a chance to blow their nose.

'As was one of your guard last week, I believe,' responded Treville.

'My man was an idiot. He was inebriated and picked a fight with a couple of men in the tavern, breaking one of their arms. From what I have heard he was later attacked, and left unconscious in a quiet alley a few streets from the tavern…do you suspect it was the same man who attacked them both?'

'Possibly, was your man hurt?' asked Treville, although he thought the red guard has been attacked as revenge for the fight in the tavern.

The Cardinal paused, he looked at Treville through slightly narrowed eyes. He could tell that Treville was fishing for information about the attack. Treville realised he was probably not going to get what he wanted without first giving up some information.

'Aramis has several knife wounds to his back. Not serious, but bad enough that they will leave him scarred. The attacker must have stripped him of his clothes to assault him, then redressed him. He wasn't even aware of the wounds until he returned to the garrison.'

Richelieu nodded, 'I think it was the same man, Simon was left with marks on his back as well…a most odd occurrence…for two soldiers to be attacked in such a similar manner…had Aramis done anything to provoke the attack on himself?'

Treville knew what the Cardinal was implying. Although he did not let it interfere with his work Aramis was known to enjoy the odd discreet assignation with some of the finer ladies of Paris.

'I do not believe so,' said Treville trying not to sigh, the thought had occurred to both him and Athos that the attack on Aramis might have been one of revenge by an angry husband. But now that he knew the attack on the Red Guardsman was so similar he was sure they were linked.

Richelieu turned to leave before pausing to say, 'the fact that nothing was stolen from them, means this was an attack on them…I shall inform the King, he will not be pleased that his soldiers are being attacked. I am sure he will want this investigated.'

With that Richelieu strolled away, his robes swinging as he rounded a corner out of sight. Treville had not been given a chance to respond to his last statement. He was confused, the Cardinal had implied that his guardsman had not been robbed. But Aramis had been relieved of his gun and sword. Perhaps, thought Treville, the robber had good taste and preferred the better quality of Aramis' well-kept gun?

MMMM

Armed with the knowledge of Treville's brief conversation with Richelieu, Porthos pushed his way through the crowd in the tavern. He knew Simon would be there, the man wanted to win back the money he had lost a couple of weeks before. Porthos would be only too happy to allow the man to think he was winning his money back if it meant he got more information about the attack.

Simon was sat with a bottle and a cup at a table in the corner of the room. Porthos sat down, with little ceremony, opposite the slightly overweight guard. Porthos often wondered why Simon had not been kicked out of the guard years ago. Although he was probably the least obnoxious of the men, he was a sore loser at cards. They had a frosty relationship, where Simon frequently accused Porthos of cheating and Porthos frequently beat him in the consequent brawl.

Without even speaking Porthos dealt the cards and they began to play. He allowed Simon to win the first few rounds before he struck up a conversation.

'This man who attacked you,' he said as he placed his hand down on the table, 'did you see 'im?'

Simon paused and looked at Porthos through narrowed eyes, 'why?'

Porthos sighed, he had hoped the man would be stupid enough to just answer his questions, but it was not to be. He knew Aramis would not appreciate it but he was going to have to tell Simon why he was asking questions.

'Because we think Aramis was attacked by the same man.'

Simon leant back in his seat, a smirking sneer playing across his face.

Porthos spoke again before Simon could make any disparaging comments about his friend, 'but Aramis managed to find his way back to the garrison. 'e didn't need scraping off the street…from a dirty puddle.'

The smile fell from Simon's face and Porthos wondered if he had gone too far defending his friend. He quickly lost another hand of cards to keep Simon on his side.

'No, I didn't see him…but I know it wasn't either of the men I fought in here,' he said with a renewed smirk.

This interested Porthos, he nodded to the man to continue.

'The two men I beat in here,' Simon continued smugly, 'they both stank of wine, I think they'd poured more of it on themselves than down their throats. No, the man that attacked me smelt different,' he paused thinking, 'although I can't think what the smell reminded me of, something flowery.'

Porthos took in the information as Simon dealt another round, he watched as the guardsman tried to hide a high value card up his sleeve. He wondered if that is what had caused the original fight, Simon had tried cheating before and been found out. Porthos decided to let him get away with it this time, but he would not allow Simon to take his money. As the round progressed Porthos added his own secreted cards back into his hand swapping out the low value ones. Simon did not notice, he was too caught up with his own deception.

'…and you 'ad nothing stolen?'

'No,' said Simon as he watched Porthos lay down a winning hand, and scoop up the money with a grin.

After taking his winnings from the confused man and collecting up his pack of cards, being careful that Simon did not see him remove the two cards from his sleeve he headed back to his rooms.

MMMM

The following morning Aramis walked with purpose through the market, watching the locals as they went about their business. Athos and d'Artagnan followed him, he knew they were concerned about him, but other than feeling a bit stiff and sore he was fine. What really annoyed him was that he had allowed himself to be overpowered in the first place.

He had been grabbed from behind and dragged into a side road as he was walking to the garrison. The attack was so quick and had taken him by surprise that he did not even have a chance to shout or react before he was knocked out. He knew he had been a little preoccupied, but he should have noticed the threat before he had been attacked. He had felt very pathetic as he walked into the garrison. There was no way he could hide the fact he had been attacked. He knew he would have bruising on his face. The cuts to his back had been a disturbing development, when Porthos had told him he was bleeding he could not quite believe it. He knew there was an injury, and he had hoped that the others would not notice, but that was not to be. Porthos was too astute in such matters.

As they made their way through the market d'Artagnan grabbed Aramis' arm and pointed at a stall selling weaponry. Aramis' gun was for sale at the front of the stall. They approached the stall holder. Athos circled around to the back of the stall and d'Artagnan stood a little behind Aramis who picked up his gun and examined it.

'A fine piece monsieur,' said the stall holder, thinking he was about to make a sale.

'Yes, it is…do you know what the punishment is for selling stolen goods?' asked Aramis giving the man a hard stare.

The stall holder paled, he glanced around at the three, armed soldiers, who surrounded him.

'Um…I…didn't,' the man stammered and looked on the verge of passing out. Aramis knew this man was not the one who had attacked him, he was small and would not have had the strength to drag him off the street.

'Perhaps you could tell us who sold the gun to you? And we may be able to leave you in peace?' suggested d'Artagnan who had moved closer to the frightened man.

Aramis raised an eyebrow to the man as an indication that he should tell them what he knew.

'It was Masson, he…acquires me things to sell occasionally…but I would never sell stolen things…if I knew they were stolen.'

Aramis did not care about the stall holder's morals, but he did want further information from the man, he put his arm around the small man's shoulders and pulled him closer and lightly tapped the end of the gun on the man's chin. The action pulled at the cuts on his back but he did not care.

'Where might we find Masson?'

'He…he's usually harassing the tarts about now, trying to get a free…a free lunch,' the man had frozen when Aramis had grabbed hold of him. Aramis let him go and reached out to straighten his jacket before giving him a gentle shove into his stall.

Aramis turned his back on the man, taking his gun with him, and walked towards the corner of the market where he knew a group of prostitutes would be plying their trade. Athos and d'Artagnan followed.

As they approached they heard a woman tell a man to go away, in an unladylike manner. The whore pushed the dirty looking man back and disappeared back into the house. The man turned and made eye contact with Aramis. The man looked shocked, his hand moved to his waist and Aramis recognised his sword hanging from a loose belt.

The man, who Aramis was fairly sure was Masson ran off. Aramis took off after him. Athos and d'Artagnan followed close behind.

Masson darted along the narrow alleyways. Aramis was gaining on him slowly. As they passed another street Aramis was vaguely aware of Athos and d'Artagnan being held up by a crowd of people who had been thrown out of a tavern by a cantankerous landlady.

Aramis turned a corner and found that Masson had stopped dead, in his panic he had run into a blind alley. Aramis came to a halt a few yards from the man.

'I'd like my sword back,' he said aiming his reclaimed gun at the man. He had not had time to load the weapon, but Masson did not know that.

Perhaps he should have drawn the borrowed sword instead, he thought, as Masson charged towards him? Aramis quickly flipped the gun around and went to hit Masson with it. The man was no soldier, but he had been drinking and was scared, he did not appear to notice he had been hit with the butt of the gun. Masson grabbed Aramis by the shoulders and tripped him, forcing him to the ground. He landed hard on his back. The air knocked out of him and his back screaming from the impact on his wounds, he was left stunned for a few moments as Masson scrambled up and made a run for it.

MMMM


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter Two

D'Artagnan had seen Aramis disappear around the corner chasing the thief, he and Athos had to extricate themselves from the angry inebriated crowd who had been thrown out of the tavern. Precious seconds were lost as they pushed their way through.

As they reached the turning they were met by Masson charging out and running off along the road. They glanced to their right and saw Aramis on the ground in the process of getting up. Aramis spotted them and waved them on, it was clear he was not injured. D'Artagnan realised Aramis had been pushed over by the thief in his haste to escape capture.

Athos ran after the thief, d'Artagnan followed. He knew Aramis would not be far behind. Their man had not travelled very far. They were catching him up quickly, he was a poor Parisian who would not have been fed as well as the soldiers, his energy reserves were quickly depleted. Athos reached him first, he grabbed the man by his shoulders and pushed him up against the nearest wall holding him there. D'Artagnan quickly removed Aramis' sword from the man's belt and searched him for any other weapons.

As he finished Aramis caught up with them. He looked very angry and d'Artagnan realised the marksman meant to do harm to their prisoner. He put himself between Aramis and Athos who still had the thief pinned to the wall. D'Artagnan grabbed Aramis and forced him to stop walking forward, Aramis tried to push passed but d'Artagnan persisted.

'We need to question him,' he said as he pushed Aramis back. The angry musketeer acquiesced and calmed down a little. D'Artagnan handed Aramis his sword back. He watched as Aramis looked it over.

Athos was talking to Masson who looked a little worried about his predicament, 'as you can see, my friend is not very happy about you attacking him yesterday.'

Masson said, 'I didn't attack 'im. I just took 'is stuff.'

D'Artagnan looked across at Aramis who now understood he had not been the victim of a robbery. He had been assaulted and then Masson had taken the opportunity to relieve Aramis of his property whilst the marksman was still unconscious. But this meant they had more work to do to find Aramis' attacker. Masson was nothing more than a common thief, who was stealing in order to survive.

'Did you see who attacked him?' asked Athos as he lessoned his grip on the man slightly.

Masson looked between the three musketeers, he was not as sure of himself now that he was surrounded.

'I don't know who it was, but I did see 'im.'

'Can you tell us what he looked like?' asked d'Artagnan. He noticed that Aramis had taken his gun out and was loading it. Masson was watching the marksman's well practiced actions warily.

'He was a big fella and tall. Taller than you…,' he nodded towards d'Artagnan, 'but 'e 'ad 'is 'ed covered, 'e was wearin' a cloak. 'e 'ad a ring…'

Aramis had finished loading his gun and took a step forward, although he did not point the gun at Masson it was clear he wanted to, 'anything else?'

Masson was quite pale, his eyes glued to the gun that Aramis held in his hand pointing skywards.

'The knife 'e used…to cut ya wiv'. It were silver.'

Aramis took another step forward aiming the gun at Masson's head. Masson tried to wriggle away but Athos held him still.

'I don't know nuffink else. I don't,' said Masson his eyes wide staring at the gun.

Aramis lowered the gun and stepped back. Masson visibly relaxed.

MMMM

The messenger from the mortuary did not bring welcome news. But, thought Treville, was any news from the mortuary ever welcome?

He looked up as his men entered the room. Athos, taking his natural place as their leader led them in, d'Artagnan and Porthos following. Aramis, who was still sporting the bruising from his attack was the last of the four, he closed the door behind him and took his place beside his brothers.

'There appears to have been two more attacks,' he said his eyes falling on Aramis who looked angry. Treville was as confused about the attacks as the marksman was. But what he was about to tell them would be a shock, he was sure.

'Have they been assaulted in the same way?' asked d'Artagnan glancing over at Aramis who was clearly embarrassed by the continued attention he was getting due to the unusual manner of the attack.

'I believe so…but the attacker has…progressed,' Treville paused, his men waited for him to continue, 'they've both been killed.'

Aramis took a slight step back, his eyes wide at the news. Porthos put his hand at Aramis' back to steady him, without thinking about it. The small move was not lost on Treville, he knew his men were a close-knit team, he knew they looked out for each other.

'How were they killed?' asked Athos, his calm exterior ever present.

'That I don't know, the bodies are at the mortuary, Poupart sent word to me a few minutes ago. He will be expecting you.'

'Do we know who they were?' asked Aramis, who had recovered his composure.

'A prisoner, and a prostitute.'

MMMM

What had two soldiers, a prisoner and a prostitute got in common? Athos could not think of a connection. The only thing that connected them, possibly, was the attacker. But they could not be sure until they had seen the bodies.

As they made their way to the mortuary Athos walked beside Aramis who had again become unusually quiet. Athos could not blame the man, it had come as a shock to all of them that the attacker had moved on from simply assaulting his victims to killing them. It was also a shock that the two latest victims were not soldiers. There did not seem to be any connection. Were the attacks random. It would make it very difficult to catch the perpetrator if he were picking his victims at random.

They descended the few steps to the dimly lit mortuary. Poupart looked up as they entered the room where the bodies were laid out. He approached them and nodded a greeting.

'I've laid them both over here, I don't have names for them, I just know what they were.'

The two bodies were laid, on their backs, next to each other. The cause of death for the man was obvious, the marks about his neck telling the sordid tale of his last few minutes of life, he had been hanged. But the woman appeared unmarked. She looked almost serene in death.

'How did she die?' asked Athos.

With no ceremony Poupart lifted the dirty sheet that was covering the woman's body. She was naked, a stab wound in her chest explaining her death.

'She was brought in this morning, I saw the marks on her back and was about to send the boy over to let you know when he was brought in,' Poupart indicated the murderer, he stepped over to the body and nodded to Porthos who stepped forward, they turned the body over.

Poupart continued, 'I noticed the marks straight away…I believe, in his case, the cuts were added after he was dead, but hers,' Poupart turned the prostitute over with d'Artagnan's help, 'her's were done prior to death, the cuts have bled.'

The Musketeers looked at the two bodies. Porthos frowned as he glanced back and forth between the two, Athos noticed his expression.

'What?' he asked.

'The slashes on their backs, it don't look random,' Porthos paused and looked at Aramis who was standing a little behind the others, his face ashen, 'I don't think the ones on your back were random either come to think of it.'

MMMM

Porthos looked at Aramis apologetically, he had a fair idea what Athos was about to say, and he almost regretted saying how similar the slashes were on each of the victims. He was the only one who had seen the marks on Aramis' back.

'Take off your shirt, we need to compare them.'

Aramis looked away, clearly embarrassed at the prospect of stripping off in front of them. Porthos could tell he was having a hard time accepting what was happening. Aramis was effectively a piece of evidence in their investigation. Porthos looked across at Poupart, who seemed to work out what the big musketeer was trying to communicate, he walked out of the room leaving them alone.

Aramis was reluctantly undoing his doublet whilst shaking his head, 'It's clearly the same attacker, why do you need to see…'

'I know this is not pleasant for you Aramis, but we need to know what we are dealing with. We need to know why these two were killed and you and Simon were not.'

Aramis dropped his doublet on a chair and pulled up his shirt, turning his back to them as he did so. The knife marks were beginning to heal, but still stood out starkly on his back.

Porthos noticed that d'Artagnan was looking between the two bodies and Aramis, he appeared to have realised something but was reluctant to say anything. Athos had noticed as well, he looked at the young musketeer.

'I think the marks are numbers.'

Porthos looked again at Aramis' back, 'six,' he said.

Aramis lowered his shirt, clearly having decided he had been on display for long enough now. Porthos turned to the body of the prostitute, 'three…and five,' he finished looking at the two slices cut into the back of the hanged man. Now that they had made the connection the 'V' was quite easy to see.

'What do they mean?' asked d'Artagnan.

Porthos glanced across at Aramis who was looking at the two bodies as he tucked his shirt back in, his expression implied that he knew something, he noticed that Porthos was looking at him.

Aramis sighed, 'I think it's a biblical reference…'

Before he could finish Porthos worked it out, he looked at the woman, 'she was killed yesterday…Sunday, she was probably working when she was killed. Keeping the Sabbath holy is the…third commandment.'

Athos looked across at the hanged man, 'Thou shalt not kill…the fifth commandment?'

Aramis nodded. He had paled slightly, Porthos watched as Athos' expression hardened.

D'Artagnan asked the question, he was the only one of them who had not worked out the answer, 'I've never really paid that much attention…what's the sixth commandment?' he asked looked at Aramis.

Aramis replied quietly, 'do not commit adultery.'

MMMM

Authors note: There are several slightly different versions of the Ten Commandments, so the numbering used may not be the same as you are used to, dear reader. I lost count of all the different numberings I found, in the end I just had to pick one and stick with it.


	3. Chapter 3

Authors note: Thanks for all the reviews, follows and favourites. This chapter is a bit longer again. But I won't be putting the next one up until about 1700 UK time tomorrow (shift work getting in the way again!).

Chapter Three

D'Artagnan felt the tension in the room rise with each second. Athos looked very angry, he was glaring at Aramis. Porthos was trying to appear sympathetic, but failing, and Aramis was looking down at the ground as if he wanted to be swallowed up by it.

Athos was the first to speak, 'who were you with?'

Aramis did not reply, he shifted his feet slightly and sighed. Athos took a step towards him and repeated the question.

'Who were you with? You must have been seen.'

'I was careful, I checked the road, it was early, there was no one around. Madame Caille…she stopped me on the doorstep…we kissed,' Aramis paused, he did not know where to look, he settled on a spot to the left of Athos, 'we may have been seen then…I was attacked a couple of streets away.'

D'Artagnan was shocked when Athos strode forward and grabbed Aramis by his doublet saying, 'I've always said, your indiscretions would get you in trouble. You could have been killed. One day you will do something so stupid it does get you killed…and I do not want to be dragged down with you.'

Athos pushed Aramis away and stalked out of the mortuary. Aramis stumbled back a few steps and ended up hitting the wall with a wince. He looked vacantly straight ahead.

'He didn't mean it,' said d'Artagnan when no one had spoken for a few seconds.

Aramis said quietly, 'yes he did.'

Porthos stepped forward, he paused in front of Aramis reaching out his hand to place on Aramis' shoulder, 'he did mean it…but only because he loves you and worries about you.'

Aramis continued to stare ahead.

MMMM

Treville had, somehow, managed to keep the true nature of the murders and the attacks a secret. He had berated Aramis soundly for the position he had been put in. But had said that to prevent further embarrassment to the garrison, and to Aramis, he would just say that the attacks appeared to be random. Which was not entirely untrue. The four victims had nothing to link them other than a breaking of a commandment each.

Simon, they had surmised must have broken the second commandment, he was known to use language which did not befit a church goer, although they did not believe he was among the faithful.

Aramis was sat in the garrison yard, it had been two days since he had been forced to reveal his indiscretion and the likely reason for his attack. Athos was not talking to him; the man was avoiding him. Porthos had taken to sitting with Aramis whilst d'Artagnan, slightly torn between his brothers had separated his time between them. It was awkward and Aramis knew it was his fault. He wanted to break the tension between him and Athos, but he could not see how to do it. He could not apologies for the way he was. He could apologies for being seen leaving his mistresses house, and he had. At least he had tried. Athos had simply walked away when Aramis had approached him to talk. The swordsman was clearly still too hurt by the situation that Aramis had created to forgive him.

Porthos had told him that Athos would come around eventually, Aramis hoped it would be soon, he hated the way things were between them.

One of the newer cadets walked up to Aramis who looked up at the young man as he said, 'there's a man and a little girl, they wanted to talk to you.'

'Me?' asked Aramis, confused.

'They wanted to talk to the men who are investigating the attacks.'

Word had spread about the city that there had been two murders and two assaults that had been linked together. The bizarre nature of the attacks had caused gossip and speculation, people knew that the victims were all slashed on their backs. Aramis knew that it was not generally known that he was amongst those who had been attacked, but he still felt as though people were staring at him when he walked through the city.

He crossed the garrison to the gate wondering what the man that had come to speak to him wanted.

He was in his mid-twenties, his clothing was of a reasonable standard, he clearly had employment. The little girl at his side looked pale, she wore a blue dress and had her hair neatly combed under a blue bonnet from which she peered up at Aramis.

'How can I help you?'

'Are you trying to find the murderer?'

Aramis nodded.

'I think my daughter, Louise, was attacked by him,' the man said hesitantly.

Aramis could not help a gasp of shock. To think that this sweet looking little girl had been attacked in such a way appalled him.

'We lost sight of her for a while two weeks ago, we found her lying at the end of the road. Her back had been slashed.'

The little girl looked up at her father, there were tears in her eyes. Aramis wondered what commandment she had broken to deserve the treatment she had received.

'My wife said you would probably need to see her injury,' the man continued, 'my wife, she's just had our second child, she couldn't bring Louise here herself.'

Aramis was busy trying to work out what to do, he did not like the idea of bringing the child into the garrison, but the man was right, they would need to look at her injury. He glanced behind him and saw d'Artagnan watching the exchange from a distance. Aramis beckoned him over. He quickly explained what had happened.

'Hello,' said d'Artagnan turning to the man, 'my name's d'Artagnan.'

'Paul,' said the man, 'this is Louise.'

'Hello Louise,' said d'Artagnan crouching down to be on her level, 'would you like to meet a friend of mine, her name is Constance, she's very pretty, almost as pretty as you.'

Aramis could not help a smile as d'Artagnan talked to the little girl, he seemed to have won her over instantly. He took Louise's other hand and they walked out of the garrison, Aramis followed.

MMMM

'She was attacked…by the same man that attacked Aramis?' asked Constance incredulous.

D'Artagnan had left Aramis, Paul and Louise a short distance away whilst he spoke to Constance who was watching them over his shoulder.

'Yes, we need to look at her injury. Aramis didn't want to take her into the garrison…we need to compare her injury to the others…just to make sure.'

Constance sighed, she was clearly as shocked and appalled as he and Aramis were. She stepped to the side and walked over to the others. She bent down to talk to Louise, taking her hand. The little girl seemed a little perplexed but went with Constance.

They walked into the small house and Constance guided Louise to her bedroom, she looked back and said, 'give us a minute, I'll call you in…just Aramis, she doesn't need everyone looking at her.'

D'Artagnan nodded, he understood. Aramis was talking to the girl's father.

'Had your daughter been…naughty, in some way…before she was attacked?'

Paul was shocked at the question, 'no. She's a lovely girl. She's been looking forward to the new baby, wanting to help my wife with everything she could. She's five, what could she have done to deserve being attacked.'

D'Artagnan wondered what the girl had done as well. Aramis had gently encouraged the man to sit at the table, as he pulled out a seat and sat beside him.

'I'm sorry Paul, but we think the man who has been attacking people has been…' Aramis paused, 'using the ten commandments as a basis for who he chooses.'

D'Artagnan knew that Paul did not know Aramis was one of the people who had been attacked but he could tell Aramis did not like speaking about the reasons behind the attacks.

Paul thought for a moment then said quietly, 'Louise was ill, she had a fever. The day she was attacked…she was tired and a bit irritable, she shouted at her mother in the street and nearly pulled her over. She didn't mean it, she was really not well.'

'Honour your Father and Mother,' said Aramis quietly.

They looked around as Constance re-entered the room, she nodded to Aramis who rose and followed her to the bedroom.

D'Artagnan watched as Paul tried to hold back the tears that filled his eyes as he said, 'why would someone do that to her?'

'We don't know,' said d'Artagnan, 'but we are going to find him.'

A few minutes later d'Artagnan was walking beside Aramis on their way back to the garrison.

'She was attacked by the same man, the slashes on her back are very clear...she's scarred for life by them…'

D'Artagnan sighed, he had no response. They walked the rest of the way in silence.

MMMM

The weapons lay half cleaned on the table in the armoury. A cleaning cloth held loosely in Aramis' hand had not been employed for a few minutes now. The marksman was sat back in his chair staring ahead.

Finding their fifth victim, an innocent little girl had angered him. He knew that he was guilty of sinning, and perhaps deserved to be punished for it. But little Louise, she did not deserve to be scarred for life. The pretty little girl would probably have to explain the scars to any suiters when she grew up. Perhaps she would hide away from any potential husbands, remain unmarried because of this incident. An incident caused by a clearly deranged man who perhaps thought he was doing something in the name of faith, but really all he had achieved was to ruin an innocent life.

Aramis was unaware of Porthos entering the armoury and sitting opposite him. He continued to stare ahead, it was not until Porthos clicked his fingers in front of Aramis' face that the marksman snapped out of his reverie.

'You need to talk to Athos.'

Aramis looked at Porthos and sighed, 'it's not like I haven't tried. He won't talk to me.'

Aramis would probably even settle for the swordsman punching him if it broke the tension and helped get them back to normal. He knew what he had done to cause the attack on himself was wrong and he knew he should have been more careful but he wished Athos would accept that it had happened. That Aramis was sorry. But Athos was still too angry.

MMMM

Porthos left Aramis to his cleaning, although he doubted many of the guns would get cleaned, the marksman was far too melancholy.

Athos was sparring with a couple of cadets. He was clearly still wound up about Aramis, as he was fighting the two young men with far more aggression that was necessary. One of the lads looked positively terrified.

Porthos drew his sword and wandered over, putting himself in Athos' view. The swordsman accepted the new target for his frustration and switched to sparring with Porthos. The cadets stepped back panting.

Porthos acted defensively, he did not try to attack, merely parried where necessary and moved where Athos forced him to go. Athos soon realised his new sparring partner was not worth the effort and stood back, his breathing quick.

'Should I go back to sparring with the cadets?'

'No, you should calm down and speak to Aramis, before he fades away with depression and you scare away all the cadets.'

Athos sighed, his shoulders sagging slightly, 'I know, I just cannot bring myself to speak to him yet. He could have been killed. It was after his attack that the murders started. And all because he cannot leave the ladies alone, because he needs another conquest…'

'He's not that bad,' said Porthos defensively, Aramis was a lover of woman but he did not see them as conquests, he had cared for many of his mistresses.

'I know, but I worry.'

Porthos nodded, 'he knows that. But it would be better if you talked to him and cleared the air.'

Athos nodded, 'I will.'

MMMM

Athos was tolerating him, that seemed to be the extent of their relationship. They had to work together, but that did not mean Athos had to be anything more than civil towards Aramis. Athos was clearly still angry, that Aramis had brought on the attack through his own fault. Aramis knew that Porthos had spoken to Athos, tried to get him to talk, but Athos was still being frosty towards him.

As they walked through the streets of Paris, returning from the Palace back to the garrison they had taken to walking less as a group. Athos and d'Artagnan walked in front and Aramis would bring up the rear with Porthos.

The streets were, as always, busy. A group of street boys ran passed the musketeers, brushing passed Porthos who shouted after them. One of them turned around and gesticulated at the soldiers, knowing that they were not worth the bother to chase. Porthos gesticulated back at them, earning a laugh from the group of scruffy boys. As they ran off they pushed over a young woman holding a basket.

Without thinking about what he was doing Aramis stepped over to the woman and helped her up. He asked if she was alright, and if there was anything else he could do to help her. He picked up her basket and handed it to her, brushing her hand with his as he did so. A small gesture, which earned a playful look from the woman. He held her gaze for a few seconds before she excused herself thanking him again and walking off.

As he was about to turn he found himself roughly pushed against a wall. Athos holding him there, pinning him by the shoulders firmly. His face one of pure anger, Aramis thought for a moment he was about to get the punch he probably deserved. D'Artagnan was trying to pull Athos away, but Athos simply pushed d'Artagnan away instead.

'You don't even know you are doing it, do you?' spat Athos, his voice shaking with the anger, 'you flirt with them as if it is a normal practice…do you seek out the married women especially?'

Aramis felt the pressure on his shoulders ease slightly and pushed Athos off him saying, 'perhaps I can't help it, we can't all be like you.'

Aramis pushed passed Athos knocking his shoulder as he did so and continued walking towards the garrison, taking several deep breathes as he did so.

MMMM


	4. Chapter 4

Authors note: Thanks for all the great reviews. Dear reader, this chapter will reveal just how _unoriginal_ I have been with this story! But I am impressed with myself for keeping you guessing this far.

Chapter Four

D'Artagnan caught Aramis up and walked beside him. The young man had the sense not to speak, but he did not want to leave the fuming marksman alone until he had calmed down. He glanced behind and saw Porthos speaking to Athos who had not moved to follow them yet.

Aramis stopped very suddenly, d'Artagnan had already taken a couple of steps before he realised, he looked around at his friend. Aramis was looking off into the distance, lost in thought.

'What?'

'I don't know, something about that woman…' Aramis brow creased, 'she reminded me of…she reminded me of when I was attacked.'

D'Artagnan took a step closer to the marksman, wondering what he was talking about.

'The way she smelt…flowery,' he paused looked at d'Artagnan, 'I know a lot of women smell flowery, but the man who attacked me, he smelt the same…flowery, roses maybe. I'd not remembered until now.'

Aramis resumed walking back to the garrison, leaving d'Artagnan a little confused.

MMMM

'What was that about?' asked Porthos as he and Athos caught up with d'Artagnan and watched Aramis disappear into the garrison.

'He remembered something about his attack.'

'What?' asked Athos.

Porthos knew that despite the uncomfortable atmosphere between Athos and Aramis they still cared about it other. Athos wanted to bring his friends attacker to justice as much as any of them.

'That the man who attacked him smelt…flowery.'

'Simon said the same thing,' said Porthos, the others turned to look at him, 'I didn't think anything of it at the time.'

'I am not sure it helps us, there could be any number of reasons for a person to smell of something.'

'Aramis said that that woman,' d'Artagnan point back to where Aramis had helped the woman up, 'smelt the same. The same flowers.'

'It could just be a coincidence,' said Athos, still unconvinced that the information was of any value.

MMMM

A second visit to the mortuary was not a welcome occasion for Aramis considering what had happened the last time. Although this time he was alone. Poupart had sent word that there were two more bodies.

As Aramis descended the steps to the dimly lit room he removed his hat and nodded a grim greeting to Poupart.

'This one's been dead a couple of days, they found him by the river, not drowned, stabbed,' said Poupart indicating the first body. He turned and pointed to the next one saying, 'this one's more recent, probably this morning, again stabbed through the heart, efficient. He was found on the street near where he lived.'

'And their backs?' asked Aramis, although now healed his own back seemed to ache at the thought of the slices in the skin he expected to find on each of the bodies.

'Like the others.'

The two murder victims were already lying face down on the tables, Poupart pulled the dirty, blood stained sheets off them both.

The first was a man of about Aramis' age, he looked relatively healthy, he was not malnourished. Across his back was a clear single cut. The first commandment had been broken in some way by this man thought Aramis. He wondered what the man had done. The second man, was middle aged, he was overweight and clearly prosperous, his back had three cuts forming an 'I' and an 'X'.

'You shall not covert your neighbour's house,' said Poupart.

MMMM

The breaker of the first commandment had been a street salesman. Porthos had asked around and found out that he had been selling a supposed elixir. An elixir of holy water that the man told people would bring them health.

But one of the street boys that he spoke to said that the man was simply filling the bottles with water from a dirty stream. The unclean water giving the liquid a cloudy colour which the man used as a selling point. He had claimed that the holy water was blessed by ancient gods, pagan gods. Porthos guessed this was what had earnt him his untimely death.

The boy, whose hand now contained two coins was more than happy to tell Porthos everything he knew. He had seen the man filling up his bottles late in the evening on the day he was killed. The boy had also seen someone else watching the man. The boy had described the observer as wearing a hooded cloak.

Porthos guessed that the murderer must have followed the victim and grabbed him as he went about his own nefarious business.

They now had four murders and three assaults. If they did not catch the man soon he would run out of commandments to use as a basis for his attacks.

MMMM

The following morning Athos visited the neighbour of the most recent murder victim. Aramis had left the details of the two victims for him before leaving for Palace guard duty. Treville had finally decided that the two should be kept apart for a few days, in a vain hope that their issues would abate. Athos had been on the verge of talking to Aramis to clear the air when they had their altercation, in truth he felt a bit embarrassed about the whole incident now. But at the time he had been enraged at Aramis. Now they were back to avoiding each other.

The street where the murder victim, Gerold Belrose, lived was lined with shops. Belrose owned a productive bakery. The neighbouring shop, a butcher, also appeared to be prospering. Athos wondered why Belrose might have been covetous of the butcher.

The bakery was closed, unsurprisingly, Athos glanced up at the rooms above, deciding he would try to talk with Belrose's widow after he had talked to the butcher.

He walked through the open door, passed hanging meat, into the main room of the butchers. The proprietor watched the musketeer enter.

'Can I help you, monsieur?' he asked.

'I am Athos of the Kings Musketeers,' stated Athos as he walked up to the tall, broad shouldered man, 'I am investigating the murder of your neighbour Monsieur Belrose.'

'I heard about that,' said the butcher, as he wiped blood from his hands on a cloth, 'I'm Lambert, Jean Lambert. We've been neighbours for many years, I considered Gerold a good friend.'

Athos wondered if they had made a mistake at the mortuary, perhaps Belrose was not covetous of his neighbour's business. If the men were friends it did not make sense.

'You had a good relationship with your neighbour?'

'Oh yes, he and his wife and my late wife often dined together, they both helped me when my wife passed away last year…do you mind if I carry on with my work? I have a lad coming to collect this shortly,' Lambert asked indicating the rabbit carcass he had been gutting when Athos arrived.

Athos indicated for him to continue. Lambert picked up a silver handled knife from the table and went back to his work. Athos thought back to the description that the thief had given them of the man who had attacked Aramis. The attacker had used a silver knife. Lambert was tall, he was also of stocky build. Being a butcher meant he was most likely fit, capable of dragging a man off the streets and knocking them out as the attacker had done with both Aramis and Simon.

Athos realised he was probably talking to the murderer. But it did not make sense, this man did not appear to be a religious fanatic. They had decided the murderer must have been attacking and killing through some misguided religious compunction.

Confused and wishing to leave before he potentially gave away his suspicion Athos thanked Lambert for his time and hurriedly left. As he walked towards Belrose's bakery a young woman opened the door and stepped out. Athos realised it was the same woman that Aramis had helped up a few days before. He quickly changed direction, he did not think the woman would recognise him but he did not want to take the chance. He watched discreetly, as she entered the butchers and spoke to Lambert. Her body language was not that of a grieving widow, she was far too familiar with Lambert.

Athos realised Lambert and Madame Belrose were lovers.

MMMM

'We have no proof,' said Athos as he put the bottle of wine back on the table. He reached for the now refilled cup and took a generous swig.

'But it does all fit, the description, and from what we have found out he doesn't have an alibi for any of the attacks,' said d'Artagnan.

'Why attack and kill other people?' asked Athos, who was still perplexed by the whole situation.

Porthos sat forward, 'I think it's quite simple really,' he paused realising he had all of their attention, 'he wants the neighbour's wife. The wife can't leave the neighbour, so 'e murders 'im…leaving the widow free to remarry.'

'But again,' said Athos, 'why the other attacks?'

'To cover up the murder of 'is neighbour.'

D'Artagnan understood what Porthos was saying, 'so he attacks the other people, using the Bible as a basis to hide the murder he needs to do…leaving us running around trying to find an imaginary lunatic serial killer.'

Athos shook his head, he still looked unconvinced, 'perhaps you are correct,' he sighed, 'but how do we prove it?'

'Bait.'

They looked across to the wooden steps, Aramis was sat nursing a cup of wine, he had deliberately sat apart from the others, not wanting to be too near to Athos.

'If, what you are saying is correct,' he continued, 'Lambert will need to commit at least one more murder, or attack to hide the murder of Belrose…we need to offer him a victim.'

'Are you suggesting that we allow someone to be attacked…to catch 'im in the act?' asked Porthos, his eyes wide.

'Yes.'

MMMM

Aramis watched as the others thought about his idea. He knew it was risky, but he suspected they would have come to the same conclusion. If they could gain the upper hand by being in control of Lambert's next attack they could catch him.

After they had pooled all their respective information it had not taken them long to realise that Lambert was their man. When Athos had described seeing Madame Belrose enter the butchers with intentions that did not befit a grieving widow, and Porthos had worked out the real motive, Aramis had been shocked. He realised how he and the other victims had all been used to cover up one murder. Lambert was indeed a clever man.

But what still annoyed him more than his own attack was the attack on Louise. He could have been amused that he had been branded an adulterer, by a man who was trying to cover up his own adultery. But Lambert had attacked a totally innocent child, and for that he needed to pay.

MMMM

'I'll do it,' said d'Artagnan, 'he's not met me. Which commandments does he have left?'

'Thou shalt not steal would probably be the easiest,' suggested Athos.

D'Artagnan paused before saying, 'that's good, but I'm not sure I could do that…convincingly.'

'Ya don't need to be too good, he needs to see you stealing something…but you have a point, you can't be too obviously trying to get caught.'

Porthos rose from the table and pulled d'Artagnan up with him, 'I will teach you some of the finer points on pickpocketing…it's been a few years, but I suspect I can still do it.'

Athos could not help a smirk as Porthos handed d'Artagnan back the small money bag he had liberated from the young man's pocket. D'Artagnan looked shocked. Porthos, his arm across d'Artagnan's shoulder led him away craftily undoing d'Artagnan's pauldron as he walked without the young man realising. When the pauldron fell away Porthos roared with laughter as d'Artagnan punched the bigger man on the arm with mock annoyance.

As they walked away Athos turned his attention to Aramis who was still sat on the steps. The marksman was looking at him. Athos indicated the empty space on the bench next to him and picked up the bottle of wine.

Aramis walked across and sat down, he held out his cup and allowed Athos to refill it.

'I am careful…it was just unfortunate that I was seen.'

Athos sighed, 'I know. I'm sorry…this has been difficult…'

Aramis smiled ruefully, 'to think that he picked on me for doing something that he was doing as well.'

'Ironic, I suppose,' said Athos, he turned to look Aramis in the eyes, 'I meant what I said though…one day you could make a mistake, please, Aramis, be more careful.'

Athos watched as Aramis took in his words. He knew the marksman would not change, but he hoped that this incident would encourage him to be more careful.

'Now,' said Athos, considering the matter between them finished, 'we have to plan this very carefully. I do not want d'Artagnan being put in any more danger than he has to be.'

MMMM


	5. Chapter 5

Authors note: Thanks for all the great reviews. It's time to catch the killer…

Chapter Five

Aramis watched from his hiding place as d'Artagnan walked along the road, the young man was careful to pause outside the butchers long enough to draw attention to his suspicious behaviour. A man walked passed and d'Artagnan picked his pocket, carefully secreting the stolen money bag in his own pocket. Aramis glanced across to the building opposite the butchers Porthos was watching from a window, he nodded to Aramis who smiled. The plan was working, Lambert had taken an interest.

They had two more volunteers for d'Artagnan to steal from ready to walk down the road. One more disguised musketeer and Constance, who had been more than willing to help them out.

D'Artagnan was looking for his next target, Barbotin, in a borrowed doublet wandered passed, Aramis smirked as the musketeer did not look very comfortable in the fine jacket. D'Artagnan stepped forward and skilfully took the jewelled dagger that was pushed into Barbotin's belt. If Barbotin had noticed he did not react.

Next came Constance with a basket over her arm, she paused to look in the window of the bakery, d'Artagnan passed her and took a handkerchief from her basket as he did so. Pretending not to notice Constance wandered off along the road, her part in the pantomime complete.

Aramis was impressed, Porthos had clearly taught the young man well in the few hours since they had come up with their plan. And d'Artagnan was making the thefts only obvious to Lambert. It would not do if someone else were to notice and draw attention to him. Porthos signalled Aramis that Lambert was on the move. The butcher had pulled off his apron and left his shop to follow d'Artagnan along the road.

As d'Artagnan walked away with Lambert following, Aramis and Porthos emerged from their respective hiding places and followed at a discreet distance. As they reached the end of the road, d'Artagnan deliberately turned off into a quite alleyway. This was going to be the hardest part, d'Artagnan had to allow himself to be caught and the rest of them had to watch it happen, without interfering.

They could not prove Lambert was responsible until he had attacked d'Artagnan. But they also needed to catch him before he hurt their friend, or worse.

MMMM

D'Artagnan turned into the alleyway, he knew Athos was watching from across the street and that Aramis and Porthos would be following. When he had become aware of Lambert leaving his shop he had made his way along the road, hoping the man was following him. He could not risk looking back. Now that he was in the quiet, away from the bustle of the main road d'Artagnan could hear Lambert's footsteps behind him.

The footsteps gained in pace and as d'Artagnan turned he was grabbed and an arm was pulled across his neck, squeezing. The butcher was strong, d'Artagnan fought back. He thought, as his vision blurred, that he probably would not have been able to fight the man off even if he was making a concerted effort.

For a few seconds' he wondered if the plan was a good one. Then he did not think at all.

MMMM

They hurried to reach the turning, Porthos peeked around, in time to see Lambert dragging a limp d'Artagnan into a building off the alleyway. Athos joined them from across the street.

'Our plan seems to be working,' he said as he led the way towards the door that Lambert had taken d'Artagnan though.

Whilst Aramis continued passed to try and find an alternate entrance Porthos and Athos pushed the door open. The building, clearly unused, was dusty with cobwebs littering the walls and ceiling. It was also quite dark, there was a dim light coming from the dust covered windows but they did not have much to work with.

They stood quietly by the door for a few moments. A creak above them indicated where they should go. They trod carefully, not wanting to give themselves away, as they climbed the steps to the first floor. A flicker ahead of them told them what they needed to know, Lambert had found a place to deal with his latest victim. They crept forward.

Ahead of them they could see Lambert standing in front of a table, he had his back to them. Lying on the table was the prone form of d'Artagnan. Lambert was pulling off d'Artagnan's doublet and shirt. Porthos glanced across at Athos who was ready to rush in at any moment. They knew they had to wait until Lambert did something to incriminate himself. They were waiting for him to employ the silver knife on d'Artagnan's back.

Once the unconscious musketeer had been stripped to the waist, his doublet and shirt carefully put to one side Lambert turned him onto his front. D'Artagnan had not stirred, Porthos noticed the marks around the man's neck, Lambert had throttled his friend until he was unconscious.

Lambert reached into his pocket and pulled out the knife, he leaned over d'Artagnan and pressed the tip of the blade to his skin.

MMMM

Athos stepped forward, his gun levelled at Lambert.

'Stop right there, put the knife down,' he commanded.

Lambert's hand stilled, he turned and looked at Athos and Porthos. Porthos advanced towards Lambert, his gun also drawn, but held down loosely in his hand. He reached Lambert and leaned forward to take the knife from his hand.

Lambert reacted quickly, he pushed Porthos back then grasped the edges of the table where d'Artagnan lay and tipped it over throwing the unconscious man to the floor, the table landing on top of him. Porthos had stumbled back and fallen over a pile of discarded ropes.

Athos fired his gun but missed his target due to the sudden movement of the man. The gun spent he barely had time to react as Lambert rushed from the room via a different door.

Athos looked across to Porthos who was scrambling up. Satisfied that Porthos would look after their unconscious brother, Athos took off after Lambert.

There was only one route the man could have taken, a second staircase further along the building would take him back down to the ground floor and a possible escape. Athos hastened toward the stairs.

A crash and a shout from below had him quicken his pace. He reached the top of the stairs in time to see Lambert, grappling with Aramis. Lambert had Aramis pinned to a wall, the knife he was still holding was aimed at Aramis chest. Aramis was struggling to keep the largely built butcher from stabbing him.

MMMM

As Athos rushed out of the room Porthos rushed to d'Artagnan. When d'Artagnan had been tipped off the table he had landed on his back, the table then toppled on to him. Porthos pushed the heavy table off his friend, he breathed a sigh of relief when he could not see any obvious injuries.

Porthos felt along d'Artagnan's chest for any injuries, but could find nothing. The young man was going to get away with a few bruises around his neck, and possibly a headache when he woke up.

D'Artagnan groaned and tried to sit up, Porthos helped him, manoeuvring him to lean against the wall.

'Did it work?'

'Yes, but Lambert has run off, Athos has gone after him…'

D'Artagnan tried to get up but Porthos grabbed him and pushed him back to the floor.

'Take a minute will you.'

A shout from the ground floor had them both scrambling up.

MMMM

Athos ran down the stairs towards the two men fighting below. Aramis was trying to push the bigger man off him but lacked the strength. It was clear he had been surprised by Lambert who had managed to pin him to the wall with one hand, the butchers big hand was squeezing the marksman's neck.

Aramis was struggling for breath but his main focus was on the knife in Lamberts other hand. Aramis was trying to push the knife away from his chest, but was not succeeding very well. Athos grabbed at Lambert's hand, but alerted to his approach Lambert forced his arm back quickly and caught Athos in the face with his elbow causing him to stumble back a few paces, stunned. The action had also caused Aramis to lose his grip on the murderer's hand. Using his new-found freedom Lambert thrust the knife forward, but Aramis managed to shift his position slightly, the knife cut into his shoulder. The injury was clearly not serious enough to satisfy Lambert, who pulled his arm back for another attempt.

This time Athos was better prepared, rather than try to grab Lambert, he ducked forward and pulled Aramis' gun from his weapon belt. He took a step back and levelled it at Lambert.

'Drop it. I will not ask you again.'

MMMM

The hand around his throat tightened a little as Athos spoke to Lambert. Aramis was starting to feel dizzy. Lambert released him and stepped away. Gasping in air, Aramis slipped down to floor. His hand reaching for his neck as he did so. He watched as Porthos thundered down the stairs and grabbed Lambert, who did not resist him. Porthos reached out his hand for the manacles that Athos pulled from his pocket.

D'Artagnan, crouched down beside Aramis and looked at his shoulder, 'that will need stitches,' he said as he gently pulled the fabric of Aramis' doublet and shirt away from the wound.

'How did you find me out?' asked Lambert angrily, Porthos had him pushed against the wall as he attached the manacles to his wrists.

'Flowers,' said Porthos, 'perhaps if you had not smelt to pleasant we would not have caught you.'

Lambert huffed, he had no response.

'Why not just kill Belrose? Why did you have to attack and murder so many people?' asked Aramis.

'I would have been an obvious suspect otherwise,' replied Lambert, 'Nadine, would have suspected me…'

'Madame Belrose doesn't know?' asked Porthos.

'Of course not. She wants to be with me but wouldn't even consider leaving him. I wanted us to leave Paris, but she wouldn't have it. She was happy to spend time with me, but then she went back to him. Silly bitch's too loyal.'

Porthos forced Lambert down to his knees and then onto his stomach. He held the murderer there.

Aramis looked across to Lambert who was staring at him, 'I remember you, I was going to make you the first one I killed, but I got disturbed, a bit longer just now and I might have managed it.'

Porthos shoved Lambert, eliciting a smirk from his captive.

'Why did you attack the little girl? Have you no conscience?' asked d'Artagnan as he helped Aramis to stand up.

'I got disturbed with her as well…I would have like to…'

They did not find out what Lambert wanted to do with Louise as Porthos punched him hard across the jaw knocking him out.

'I don't think we want to know monsieur,' said Porthos to the unconscious murderer.

MMMM

As Lambert came around he was hauled to his feet by Porthos and Athos. He tried to speak but found himself gagged. Porthos winked at him, 'we don't need to listen to you anymore.'

Athos pushed the door open and helped Porthos to force the non-compliant man out into the street. Lambert tried to wriggle out of their firm grasp but stilled when he was confronted by four further Musketeer who took over his custody and steered him away.

They began to make their way back to the garrison, Porthos walking with d'Artagnan, whilst Athos fell into step beside Aramis, glancing across at him.

'I'm OK.'

'Really? He was going to kill you. He tried to kill you twice.'

'Yes, but he didn't…' replied Aramis.

'You really should be more careful.'

'I know.'

Porthos glanced back, 'he won't change.'

Aramis smiled, 'when there are so many lonely women, whose husbands are busy elsewhere…'

'Just be careful,' said Athos with a sigh, realising that even the recent events would not change the musketeers' ways. He just hoped that Aramis would not get himself into any more trouble due to lonely women. His charming friend seemed to be a magnet for them.

The End.

Authors note: I admit that some of the victims' misdemeanours were a bit tenuous but our murderer was not all that bothered, they were a means to an end.

I can think of at least two books where this idea is used, the great Agatha Christie's 'The ABC Murders', and Lee Child's 'One Shot' (the first Jack Reacher film). Both have the murderer killing several innocent people to cover up the murder that they wanted to commit.

The Commandments I used are the ones used in the Catholic Church, as I said in an earlier chapter there are many slight variations (even within the various Catholic websites I went to!).

I am the Lord your God

You shall have no other gods before me

You shall not make for yourself an idol

You shall not make wrongful use of the name of your God

Remember the Sabbath and keep it holy

Honour your Father and Mother

You shall not murder

You shall not commit adultery

You shall not steal

You shall not bear false witness against your neighbour

You shall not covert your neighbour's house

You shall not covert your neighbour's wife


End file.
